The editor, Zhou, was taken aback by Ding Yun's directness. She didn't even seem tempted by the substantial royalty increase that printing fifty thousand copies would bring. He had been prepared with another proposal, should she hesitate, but now he found himself at a loss for words.
How could this young girl be so sharp? Normally, children her age would find it difficult to refuse.
"Uh... this was indeed our oversight this time. It's not that we absolutely cannot print fifty thousand copies. If we pushed ourselves, our martial arts publishing house could indeed print fifty thousand copies of the remaining four books. It would just entail a bit of risk. Our publishing house also has another idea. If you could cooperate with us and do some publicity, we would have the confidence to print fifty thousand copies and sell them out in a short period."
After hesitating for half a minute and recalling his editor-in-chief's instructions and requirements, Editor Zhou could only steel himself and push on, trying to explain what he had been instructed to convey. However, he still wasn't being clear about the specific request.
Ding Yun grew increasingly displeased. She stated directly, "If you are so timid, afraid of this and that, then perhaps I shouldn't trouble you with publishing. That way, you won't have to be so conflicted and distressed, or even scheme to get what you want. Wasn't what I said clear enough? Or do you think I'm easy to bully? Just say what you want directly. Don't play these coy, roundabout games with me. If I think it's feasible, I'll agree; if not, I'll refuse outright. I don't think my words are ambiguous. Can you just tell me what you want now, or otherwise, I see no point in continuing this conversation."
If there were any difficulties or points for negotiation, she was willing to discuss them openly, as long as they were reasonable. Ding Yun considered herself quite easy to get along with. What she detested most was this kind of indirectness, trying to achieve goals through manipulation. Who would willingly be manipulated?
"I'm truly sorry. It's all my fault. Then I'll be direct. Our editor-in-chief wants to emulate the practice of several popular magazines that cultivate star authors, bringing them from behind the scenes to the forefront, revealing their faces and identities. The most famous young female and male authors recently have largely emerged through this model. Their works might not be outstanding, but combined with their looks and promotion, sales can actually double the estimated figures. Our editor-in-chief thinks this is a very effective approach. So..."
Editor Zhou probably hadn't anticipated Ding Yun being so difficult. He could only apologize again under duress and then explicitly state that this was all the decision of Editor-in-Chief Zhang. He was merely an employee.
"So, because I previously asked you to keep my identity confidential, you went through all this trouble, hoping to change my mind? But why me? Don't you have anyone else at your magazine?"
Hearing this, Ding Yun finally understood the situation and why he had been so circuitous.
"Uh, there really is no one else. I don't mind telling you the truth. Most of our magazine's authors are men. The more famous ones are at least in their thirties or forties. Two of them were quite handsome when they were young, but they've since gained weight and one is balding. We can't use their old photos to deceive people, and we have limited photos from their youth. Among the other miscellaneous authors, there are two who are good-looking, but their works are very average. If they submit ten manuscripts, maybe one will get published. Becoming a star author isn't for everyone; you need to be good-looking and have at least passable work. After all, a star author isn't just a celebrity who can sell garbage based on a few pictures. Even celebrities usually have some work to show for it. Our editor-in-chief considered it thoroughly and after much deliberation, had to admit that you are the most suitable. However, when you signed the contract with us, you explicitly asked us to keep your identity confidential, stating you were a student and didn't want to be too conspicuous. The editor-in-chief insisted I find a way to succeed, which is why I resorted to those clumsy tactics. I'm truly sorry..."
In fact, if there were other candidates, Editor Zhou wouldn't have gone to such lengths. As for other reasons, such as the fact that most of their martial arts magazine readers were male and selecting a beautiful female author would boost sales more than a handsome male author, he decided to omit them. After all, it seemed like his efforts were about to fail. Why bring those up now? He needed to secure the publishing contract first.
"I can interpret that as you complimenting my looks, but I'm genuinely unable to make public appearances. I still want to live a few more years of a peaceful student life, so let's drop this matter. I also have a suggestion for you. If you don't have star authors to promote, you could focus more on other aspects. For example, the exquisite quality of the books, the cover illustrations, the internal illustrations, and even the paper and typesetting. I believe everyone has an appreciation for beauty. While handsome men and beautiful women attract people, can't exquisite book covers or illustrations also attract people? Sometimes you might think deluxe editions don't sell well, possibly because you're missing the key point. You might not realize that simply having slightly better paper or changing the cover to a hardcover isn't enough to attract many people."
As it was her first publisher, Ding Yun, after declining the proposal to be a star author, took the opportunity to offer Editor Zhou a suggestion, a rather good one she thought.
"Could you elaborate on that?" Editor Zhou was still a bit unclear, but subconsciously felt there was merit to her words, so he asked for more details.
"This is difficult to generalize. You shouldn't just view a book as a vessel for a story. You need to design it as a work of art. People should see the book and, even without knowing the title or the content, think 'This book is so beautiful, I wish I owned it.' Wouldn't that guarantee good sales? Never mind, it's hard to explain to you. Please wait a moment regarding the publishing. I'll find time to create some book designs for you, including inner page illustrations, cover illustrations, and even details like paper and font. You'll then understand the difference between books. Some books are meant to be read, while others are meant to be collected, so precious you wouldn't dare to open them."
Ding Yun spoke for a short while, then realized it was difficult to explain. It would be better to create a sample book for them to see. And the best candidate to serve as a sample book, of course, would be her own novel. Before this discussion, Ding Yun hadn't paid much attention to book packaging and design in this world. But now that it was brought up, she remembered that books in this world generally fell into two categories: one was so simple it was almost shabby, and the other was garish and headache-inducing. Deluxe editions only increased the cost of materials; they lacked any design sense, let alone intricate craftsmanship. Since this idea had occurred to her, Ding Yun certainly didn't want her novel to be published and sold in such a manner. So, she decided to take this opportunity to declare that she would completely take over the publication of her own books, from material selection to design and printing. A complete package.